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East Lancashire psychologist banned over sexual 'homework'

A PSYCHOLOGIST who allegedly set a client sexual ‘home-work’ has been banned from working for a year after a secret tribunal.

Dr John McCarron, 51, asked the woman to tell him about her sexuality and sexual interests during her private treatment between May 2012 and February 2013. McCarron, employed by the Lancashire Care NHS Trust, then allegedly sent a string of sexually explicit texts and emails to the woman in March and April 2013 – after their professional relationship had come to end.

The married woman, known only as ‘Mrs A’, claimed she had sex with the adult occupational therapist twice in March last year.

McCarron told another man suffering from depression to ‘pull yourself together’. He did not attend the Health Care Practitioners Tribunal Service hearing in Manchester, which was held in private.

The tribunal ruled a private hearing would spare the blushes of his ‘embarrassed and traumatised’ alleged former lover – despite her being anonymous.

The HCPC panel, chaired by Brian Wroe, has ordered that McCarron be suspended from the professional register for 12 months, although a public determination on its findings is yet to be released. He has 28 days to appeal, but a temporary order will prevent him working before it takes effect.

McCarron was hauled before the British Psychological Society (BPS) conduct committee in 2007 after telling a patient to ‘pull yourself together’.

Finding that Dr McCarron had not intended to insult clients, but that the effect of his approach had been insulting, the 2007 committee reprim-anded him and ruled he had breached its code of conduct.

McCarron is employed by the NHS in adult occupational therapist, but has been in private practice since 1997.

The committee found McCarron had failed to respect patients and failed to refrain from improper conduct as a psychologist, in demeaning and belittling a client.